2017

CONSTRUCTION OF THE FIRST 3 LARGE FOREST ENCLOSURES OUT OF 15

Map of Enclosures at Samboja

In 2017, Sun Bear Outreach in collaboration the Borneo Orangutan Foundation International Foundation (BOSF), built 3 large forest enclosures for 13 bears (enclosures A, B and C on the map) and one small Training Enclosure (TE on the map) in which the bears learn to recognise and avoid the electric fence. These 3 large forest enclosures are the first of a series of 15 enclosures (A to O) for a capacity of 60 bears.

Enclosure A seen from the sky (1,65 Ha)

The bears at Samboja Lestari are all adults who cannot go back to the wild because they are too habituated to humans and don’t have the skills to survive in the wild. They are all innocent victims of human activity and they have all suffered a lot, sometimes spending years in small cages, deprived of everything. Each forest enclosure we build allows a handful of bears to have access to some of their natural habitat and enjoy a social life with other bears.

Brutus in his new cage, Tarakan

Jay in enclosure A

In 2017 we also helped improve the well being of 3 bears in Tarakan (Eask Kalimantan). These 3 bears belong to the city of Tarakan and are kept in a recreational park. Rina and Fitri, the 2 females, were kept in a big empty cage and Brutus the male was kept in a small inadequate cage. So we built a new cage for Brutus (4m x 4m x 3m high) and installed platforms, hammocks and climbing structures in both cages. A corridor links Brutus’ cage to that of Rina and Fitri so that they can be together or separated at will. There is unfortunately not much more we can do for these 3 bears.

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Help make a difference for the sun bears of Indonesia by making a donation to Sun Bear Outreach. 100% of your donation will go for the bears, because Sun Bear Outreach is a non profit charity that has no running cost. All people working for SBO do so on a volunteer basis.